Retail essentials (Retail essentials) [AX 2012]

Updated: September 9, 2014

Applies To: Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 R3

Retail essentials is a retail-centric configuration option for Microsoft Dynamics AX. Retail essentials provides a simplified, streamlined user experience that is optimized for organizations that use only the retail management functions of Microsoft Dynamics AX.

Retail essentials is ideal for companies that have less complex requirements, and that have to manage only brick-and-mortar stores. In this configuration, access to typical Microsoft Dynamics AX functions is limited. Additionally, omni-channel retail capabilities such as e-commerce are not available.

The following table describes the highlights of the retail-centric experience.

Feature

Description

Retail-centric user interface

Retail essentials includes just enough functionality to enable point of sale (POS) operations, provide retail user rights, and perform other functions that retailers require. Users of Retail essentials see only one area page when they open Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 R3. This area page is designed to provide access to all the components that are required for retail management from one location. Users do not have to be familiar with other areas of the product or access other modules. Additionally, some forms have been simplified so that they show only fields, functions, and labels that are relevant to retail.

Easier deployment

A deployment of Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 for Retail requires setup in many areas that aren't directly related to retail. By contrast, the initialization process for Retail essentials automatically configures reference data in over 40 areas of Microsoft Dynamics AX. Therefore, deployment time is significantly reduced, and forms and fields that are used only for initial setup can be omitted.

Integration with existing accounting systems

If you already have an accounting system, Retail essentials makes it easy to provide critical financial data to the primary accounting system. For example, you can use accounting export functionality to provide account-level sales data to your accounting system. By using built-in accounts, you can create profiles to map totals from Retail essentials to an account in the accounting system. At required intervals, account activity can be exported to a directory that is available to the accounting system. The accounting system can then obtain the totals and post to the appropriate accounts.

Data migration from another retail system

Retail essentials provides a data import/export framework that is optimized to import retail-specific data. By default, entities are mapped for users who are migrating from Microsoft Dynamics Retail Management System (RMS). Therefore, you just require an Open Database Connectivity (ODBC) connection to the RMS headquarters database to import the data into Retail essentials. For more information, see Migrate data from Microsoft Dynamics Retail Management System (Retail essentials).

To migrate data from a third-party retail system, you must create entity mappings that are specific to the data in the third-party system. However, the architecture is optimized so that this data can be mapped to staging tables in Retail essentials. The data import/export framework then creates the data correctly. For more information, see Use the Data import/export framework to migrate data (Retail essentials).

Capability to expand the system

Retail essentials can support your future software requirements and new business endeavors. Management of multiple systems in a complex environment can be expensive, and systems become obsolete over time. By using Retail essentials, you can decide when and how system consolidation occurs.

Retail essentials has Microsoft Dynamics AX at its core. All the capabilities that are provided through Microsoft Dynamics AX are available to Retail essentials, and you can easily enable these capabilities by modifying the user interface.

See the following topics for more information about Retail essentials.